The Origins of British Bolshevism

293 Pages·1977·28.928 MB·English

by  Raymond Challinor

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
POLITICAL THOUGHT AND
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Volume 13
THE ORIGINS OF
BRITISH BOLSHEVISM
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THE ORIGINS OF
BRITISH BOLSHEVISM
RAYMOND CHALLINOR
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LONDON AND NEW YORK
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THE ORIGINS OF
BRITISH BOLSHEVISM
RAYMOND CHALLINOR
CROOM HELM
ROWMAN AND LITTLEFIELD
© 1977 Raymond Challinor
Croom Helm Ltd, 2-10 St John's Road, London SWll
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Challinor, Raymond
The origins of British bolshevism.
1. Revolutionists - Great Britain 2. Great
Britain - Politics and Government - 1901-1936
I. Title
322.4'2'0941 DA566.7
ISBN 0-85664-448-X
First published in the United States 1977
by Roman and Littlefield, Totowa, New Jersey
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Challinor, Raymond
The origins of British bolshevism.
Bibliographical notes
Includes index
1. Communism-Great Britain-History. 2. Socialism
in Great Britain-History. I. Title.
HX243.C43 1977 335.43'0941 77-3576
ISBN 0-87471-985-2
Printed in Great Britain by offiet lithography by
Billing & Sons Ltd, Guildford, London and Worcester
CONTENTS
1. The Great Divide 9
2. Pioneering Days 28
3. Industrial Unrest 56
4. Socialists and the Industrial Struggle 87
5. SLP Internal Developments, 1907-1914 107
6. The First World War 123
7. Socialists in Transition 150
8. Britain and the Russian Revolution 171
9. 1918-1920: A Missed Revolutionary Chance? 195
10. Lenin and the British Communist Party 215
11. The Formation of the Communist Party 237
12. The Revolutionaries' Last Stand 257
13. Conclusion 278
Index 284
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1 THE GREAT DIVIDE
British revolutionary socialism was born in Paris on 27 September 1900.
There, at the congress of the Second International, delegates fiercely
debated the propriety of Alexandre Millerand and two other French
socialists joining the government of Waldeck-Rousseau. It was not merely
that the government was pledged to administer capitalism, and would
therefore inevitably carry out anti-working class measures, but the
Cabinet contained General Gallifet, the butcher of the Paris Commune.
Twenty thousand communards had been murdered at his command.
This made left-wing delegates even more incensed. They heckled Jean
Jaures, the veteran French socialist, when he put the case for participa
tion in the Government. He argued that the public would condemn the
French Socialist Party, regarding it as an abdication of responsibility,
if they shut the door in Waldeck-Rousseau's face. Religious and military
reactionaries threatened the Republic. The duty of French socialists
was to unite with others to defend parliamentary democracy and
freedom.
Speeches for and against were made amid cheers and counter-cheers
until Karl Kautsky put forward what he hoped would be considered a
compromise resolution. It condemned, in general terms, participation
by socialists in capitalist governments, but nevertheless argued that in
exceptional circumstances this might be necessary. When congress
passed the resolution, the left exploded with anger. They taunted the
supporters ofMillerand with shouts of 'Vive la Commune' and 'Go to
Chalons' - a reference to the place where French soldiers had recently
killed strikers.1
Among the vociferous opposition stood a solitary member of the
British delegation. All the rest had supported Millerand and voted for
the Kautsky resolution, but George S. Yates quite unequivocally
opposed class collaboration. He returned to Britain determined to
continue the struggle against all Millerands, be they F'rench, British, or
any other nationality. Yates was a talented young man. He spoke fluent
French and Gennan, had an impressive knowledge of socialist theory,
and was a dedicated internationalist. Indeed, he returned from Paris
with the words and music of The Internationale, which he introduced
into Britain.2
Yates visualised the struggle in a world-wide context. 'A big wave
9